Idea: Drip Campaign Counters

While building some onboarding emails today, I had a random idea that I think could be cool for users. I feel like someone has to be doing something similar, but I have yet to see any examples in the wild, so here we are.

Drip campaigns are awesome. They’re a great way to educate new subscribers, drive conversions, sales, etc. But as a user, you rarely know how many of the damned things you’re going to get.

So… why not include a counter in drip campaigns to give them an idea?
Something subtle but informative, just towards the bottom, letting them know what’s up. Something like this:

While I think it’s good to set expectations in the body copy of that first email in the series, this would just be a nice bonus to help people as they make their way through the emails. When you get to 3/6 or something, it’s easier for them to say, “Holy shit, there’s still three more emails? Manage preferences…” and go about their day.

Maybe it could help email marketers more deeply consider their strategy, too. If we’re setting up 12 emails in a single series, it may be time to trim the fat a bit and build a leaner, more subscriber-friendly drip program.

Just a thought, haven’t used it yet to test, but I may soon. What do you think? Let me know on Twitter.

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Jason Rodriguez is a writer and designer helping people better understand the value of the web and email—usually through writing, speaking, and teaching.